Rycraft Cookie Stamp Scottie Dog

Hand carved heirloom terra cotta cookie stamp by Rycraft. Size 2" round. Made in the U.S.A. This chaming stamp is not just for cookies--create works of art with paper or clay. Recipes included. Baking and decorating is fun and easy. Simply roll the dough into small balls, stamp them with your favorite cookie stamp design, and pop them into the oven. Minutes later, you'll have beautiful cookies for your cookie jar or for any festive gathering.Rycraft Cookie Stamps have become a much-loved tradition in countless kitchens around the world. These adorable, handcrafted clay stamps follow the Scandinavian and Pennsylvania Dutch custom of decorating cookies with designs made from hand-carved stamps.

For Basic Preparation & Helpful Hints see the Instructions Tab

Basic Preparation and Helpful Hints:Season your new cookie stamps before using them the first time by brushing them with cooking oil. A toothbrush is ideal for this. The stamp becomes seasoned after using a few times and seldom needs further treatment. Note: Never season your stamps with butter! The oil protects the stamp from the butter in your recipes and keeps them from turning rancid while stored.

The stamp works best if the ball of dough is stamped immediately after rolling it in sugar. If a stamp begins to stick, brush off particles of dough and let stamp rest. The stamp dries and will stamp well again.It is very important to have the shortbread well-mixed before stamping; if not, the dough will flake off on the stamp.

When finished decorating your cookies, clean the face of your stamps with hot water and a soft brush to remove all traces of butter. Your cookie stamps may be washed like any dish. Let them dry and store in one of our cookie stamp home displays for a charming addition to your kitchen decor.

If your recipe calls for creaming the butter and sugar, be sure not to overcream, as this may introduce excess air into the batter which can cause the imprinted design to melt away somewhat during baking. High-speed mixers (such as Cuisinart) may cream too fast try turning it to the slowest speed or else cream by hand.

Experiment with your own butter cookie recipes. You may want to avoid ones that contain baking powder or baking soda, as the design disappears as the cookie rises.

You may also want to experiment with the type and brand of flour you use, as flours vary by sack and brand and may affect the doughs texture and ability to hold the stamp designs. If the design stamps well but disappears when baked, add a little more flour to the dough. You may find you prefer to use more flour than is called for in our recipes. You may also find that bread flour holds the designs better because it has more gluten. You may also add gluten (found in the grocery store) to your recipe to give more body to the dough and hold the design during baking.

Dough tinted with food coloring often makes the design more distinct. Lightly beaten egg white may also be tinted with food coloring and painted on the cookie with a brush. This is done immediately after the cookies come out of the oven.

To paint your cookies after they are cooled, try mixing food coloring with water and powdered (confectioners) sugar, then painting with a paintbrush. You can also melt your favorite chocolate in the top of a double boiler (over boiling water to melt it slowly without burning it), and use a paintbrush to apply it to the design like paint. There are examples of painted cookies in our catalog in PDF form which you can view using Adobe Acrobat Reader from our website.

Be sure to use homogenized peanut butter rather than the natural types that separate in the jar (the oil rises to the top and it has to be stirred). Any name brand like Skippy will do.

Some people like to warm their cookie stamps in the oven while it is preheating because they say it helps prevent the stamp from sticking to the dough. To keep the stamps warm to the touch while you are using them, simply place them near the oven vent on your stove. Note: It is not necessary to warm your cookie stamps to imprint your cookies; this is only a technique some bakers like to use.

Adjustments in baking time and temperature:...if cookies are too brown on the outside and not done on the inside, lower your oven temperature and increase the baking time....thin cookies bake quicker than thick cookies; adjust baking temperature and time accordingly. ...when using more than one cookie sheet, rotate the sheets on the oven racks half way through the baking cycle.